Melanoma Skin Cancer Deaths per 100,000 Population by Year, New Mexico and U.S., 1999 to 2019

Why Is This Important?

Melanoma skin cancer is less common than basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers, but it is far more serious. All types of skin cancer are associated with exposure to the sun. New Mexico's desert climate and high elevation contribute to increased levels of sun exposure, resulting in higher overall skin cancer incidence rates. One-third of our state's population lives in Albuquerque, located 5,311 feet above sea level, which receives one of the highest rates of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation exposure in the nation.

Definition

Melanoma Skin Cancer Deaths per 100,000 population in New Mexico Melanoma skin cancer mortality is defined as a malignant neoplasm, melanoma of skin (ICD10: C43).

Data Notes

Data Sources

• New Mexico Death Data: Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics (BVRHS), Epidemiology and Response Division, New Mexico Department of Health.
  (https://www.nmhealth.org/about/erd/bvrhs/vrp/)
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC WONDER Online Database
  (http://wonder.cdc.gov)
• New Mexico Population Estimates: University of New Mexico, Geospatial and Population Studies (GPS) Program.
  (http://gps.unm.edu/)

How the Measure is Calculated

Data Issues

• Death Certificate Data

  Death certificate information is submitted electronically by funeral directors, who obtain demographic information from an informant, a close family member of the decedent. The NMDOH Bureau of Vital Records and Health Statistics (BVRHS) does annual trainings for funeral directors and local registrars and the death certificate information goes through extensive scrutiny for completeness and consistency. The cause of death is certified by the decedent's physician or the physician that attended the death. Accidental and suspicious deaths are certified by the Office of the Medical Investigator. When death certificates are received the cause of death literals are keyed into software locally by the BVRHS, then shipped to the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) where they are machine coded into ICD-10 cause-of-death codes. NCHS returns the ICD-10 codes to BVRHS where the death records are updated.

• New Mexico Population Estimates

  All population estimates apply to July 1 of the selected year. These estimates are considered the most accurate estimates for the state of New Mexico and should match those found on the University of New Mexico Geospatial and Population Studies website. Estimates include decimal fractions. Census tract population estimates were summed to produce County and Small Area population estimates. Population estimate totals may vary due to rounding. Population estimates for previous years are occasionally revised as new information becomes available. When publishing trend data, always be sure that your rates for earlier years match current rates on NM-IBIS that have been calculated with the most up-to-date population estimates.

Health Topic Pages Related to: Cancer Deaths - Melanoma

• Cancer